Exploring the world, 30 days at a time.

December 16, 2014

First Trip to Saudi Arabia

My first trip to Saudi was long in length but short on time. With so much work there to do, I had very little opportunity to go out with my camera to explore. All excuses aside, here are the few shots I managed to get while I was out in the field working.

On a trip from Dammam to Udhailiyah, we pulled over to take a break. About 100 yards from the road I saw this tree standing all by itself. Any casual reader of this site will know I have a thing for trees. Naturally, I could not leave this one without getting a photograph. I love the course texture of the bark, shielding it from some such an unpleasant environment. I plan on getting this photo printed.

Sony A7 w/ Zeiss 24-70mm @ 37mm | f/8 1/500th | ISO 100

What would a trip to the desert be without a photo of a camel? Here is my camel photo. A whole herd…flock… fleet… whatever of these things was roaming the desert nibbling on plants so small I could barely detect them amongst the stones. How on earth does an animal so large survive in place so harsh?

Sony A7 w/ Zeiss 24-70mm @ 47mm | f/8 1/500th | ISO 100

This shot was taken somewhere near Udhailiyah as a colleague and I were returning to Dammam from a day out in the desert doing some planning work. “Seen one sunset you’ve seen them all” – not in my book. This one was worth pausing to appreciate and photograph. The heat of the day was finally subsiding. A cool breeze ran over the dunes as if the desert itself was heaving a sigh of relief while we watched the sun dip below the horizon.

Sony A7 w/ Zeiss 24-70mm @ 70mm | f/5.6 1/250th | ISO 100

That’s all the photos I have from this first trip to Saudi. I hope you enjoyed them. I’ll be posting again in the next day or two. I have some photos I’d like to share with you from my experimenting with old lenses. It has had quite the impact on me and what I plan to use in the foreseeable future. Shutterbugs, stay tuned for sure!